Re: GPL violates DFSG point 3
On Thu, 1 Jun 2006, Ben Finney wrote:
> > It occurs to me that the GPL itself violates section 3 of the DFSG,
> > it cannot be freely modified. (See:
> A useful summary of the position of debian-legal on this point is here:
>
> <URL:http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2004/02/msg00290.html>
That summary doesn't consider the possibility that someone might want to
modify the license for some purpose other than licensing the software to which
it's currently attached. For instance, they might want to use the modified
license on their own work. Or they might want to use it in a book about
licenses in some context where the whole book is a derivative work of the
license. Or they might want to print it on a T-shirt but only have room for
half of it.
That summary can justify certain limitations on license texts, such as making
it clear that the revised license isn't being applied to something you don't
have permission to relicense. But it doesn't justify allowing complete
unmodifiability.
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